No Nastiness in Nashville.

Today's Tids Issue 3,720

For Twangs:

“Hold the door, say please, say thank you.   Don’t steal, don’t cheat, and don’t lie. I know you got mountains to climb, but always stay humble and kind. When the dreams you’re dreamin’ come to you.  When the work you put in is realized, let yourself feel the pride but always be humble and kind.”  “…Don’t expect a free-ride from no-one. Don’t hold a grudge or a chip and here’s why – Bitterness keeps you from flyin’…” “…Go to church cause your mama says to…”  “…Don’t take for granted the love this life gives you. When you get where you’re goin’, don’t forget to turn back around, help the next one in line, Always stay humble and kind.”

To the roaring applause last night at the 50^th annual CMA awards, the lyrics above were from the song that won the award for “Best New Song.” All of the country stars in the audience stood and sang along as Tim McGraw performed the new hit. Makes you feel there’s a nation alive in the US of A we don’t always see, that’s humble and kind. That appreciates each other and sees the good in all.

When I stand outside watching human beings with plastic bags in their hands following dogs, I’m thinking that’s America under a Hillary progressive government.

The Question:

Who do you think are listed as the all-time best country singers?

The Headlines:

--Cubs End Drought; Exciting Extra Inning 7^th Games. Fans Living Under 108 Year Curse Seen Running Madly Through Streets Screaming, “I Love Goat Cheese!” 

--US Jobless Claims Rise To Highest Level In Three Months; FaceBook Reports Soaring Revenue To $28 Billion, But Stock Plummets 7% On News Of Less Than Soaring Future; Markets Stable.

--There was a Lotta Love In Nashville Last Night As Country Music Celebrates It’s 50^th Award Ceremony; Dolly Parton Honored.

--Yahoo News Reports That Two Reliable Sources Say That Clinton Foundation Probe Is A High FBI Priority And Will Likely Lead To Indictments.

--British Court Says Country Can’t Go Forward With Planned Exit From EU Without Approval From Parliament.

--Pakistan Recalls All Personal From Delhi India Embassy; Tensions Between Two Nuke Country Over Kashmiri Escalate.

--Iraqi Troops Enter Mosul For First Tie Since 2014; 5000 ISIS Troops Pushed To “Die With Honor…” Against 100,000 Man Advancing Iraqi Army; Going Now Slowed For Fear Of Civilian Casualties And Heavy resistance.

--Two American Soldiers Killed In Afghan Skirmish With Taliban.

--Iran’s Ali Khamenei Said To Have Ordered Country’s Elite Military Fighters To Begin Infiltrating US and Europe.

--Erdogan Replaces Chiefs In 61 Of 81 Turkey Police Departments; Issues Weapons To Loyalists; Turkey Prez Also Consolidating His Own Islamic Religious Controls Through Youth Groups. Turkey Could Be Next Internal Bloodbath State Say Close Observers.

--Susan Sarandon Tells Elizabeth Warren: Hillary Is For Everything You Fought Against.”

Too many are letting the cacophony of the candidates block the real, and maybe only real issue in the race – the future of a country as it could be determined by a new Supreme Court. The choice isn’t between flawed candidates, but whether or not we want a Court picked to look at the Constitution in way that would support the views of ideologues, or one that keeps America on the track laid down by the brilliant original constitution. If I were the kind of person who woke up screaming in the middle of the night, that would be the only reason. It’s not whether we elect a crime boss or a jerk, it’s about whether or not we preserve the country.

Hannity is too much of a Gossip monger for me to ever take him seriously. He got trapped in it this week, and that doesn’t help the situation at all. It is never helpful to be reckless in support of a cause, as that will always get in the way of overall credibility. The adherents will always buy the over the top stuff, but it is the skeptics and fence sitters who need to be reached, and only a sense of credible reality will open eyes and ears for seeing and listening. Being outrageous with your base keeps heads a bobbin’, but brings no new smiles into the room for the greater essential – building breadth.

I weep for Cleveland, but two hits away.

Pretty good NFL pickings last week. 9-3-1 brought the year to 70-50-2. Maybe two ties says it all in this year of upsets and close games. And, this week I’m looking at some intense rivalries and close matchups that could go either way. Tonight, for instance, is a classic 2016 poser. Tampa is capable of surprising and Atlanta is supposed to be better. I think I’ll take the home team TB. The rivalry games are the always huge Giants-Eagles matchup, Jets-Dolphins, Detroit-Minn, Pitt-Balt and Denver Oakland. I personally like the Eagles, but super rook Wentz may be waning, so I’m giving the Giants an edge at QB experience and home field. Jets and Dolphins both need tis win. For some reason I think Miami is a tougher team. Minn just named a new Offensive coordinator. Will that stymie their rebound potential, or will the embarrassment of two straight losses spur them on. Detroit has been pretty good, but Minn will win at home. We don’t know if Rothlisberger will return. Baltimore seems to have problems, but are the home team. Balt will win in upset. Denver/Oak has always been a premier rivalry game, but the SB champs Broncs are hard to figure this year. I’ll take the Raiders. Seattle is coming around, and Buffalo, who I like, is a little banged up. Seattle fans to push Seahawks across finish line. KC QB Smith is out but old man Fowles has been good over the years and I think KC is a better team overall than Jax. I secretly root for Tennessee. I just think San Diego is a better team right now. Green Bay is due for a big, impressive win. Indy is quite susceptible to losing. I’ll take GB. I really don’t feel good about the Carolina at LA game. Cam is whining, yet the whole team that was in the SB last year is crying for respectability. Panthers. Finally a couple of relatively easy choices has, “Do you believe your eyes” Dallas over Cleveland (Even with ex-Pat Collins) and “O” Powered New Orleans over SF.

Concerns are growing about the effects of Brexit. (Even as a British Court says slow down.) They are primarily centered around the possibility of more stronger countries leaving the EU, meaning that there will be less chance of rescuing the highly indebted countries like Greece, and in particular Italy. A well-known analyst says he expects at least one major EU bank to fail sending a ripple across the ocean to the US banks with large percentages of European debt like JP Morgan. Stay tuned.

Do you get the feeling you don’t really understand what’s going on when you read that FaceBook had $28 Billion! In sales and you don’t even know what they are selling.

Little Big Town is easily one of my favorite singing groups. Their “Better Man” took me a long way away from the political babbling.

Baseball was much better before instant replay. Too much time is taken by announcers talking like lawyers while over-analyzing bang, bang plays where the Umpire is generally right in the first place. Why is everybody so intent with replacing humans with machines.

By the way, when FaceBook stock dropped yesterday, Mark Zuckerburg lost $3.7 Billion in two hours. I think I’m on a different pension plan.

The Answer:

Ok, my source has #1 as Johnny cash. I loved Johnny. There rest in order are George Strait, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams, Wayland Jennings, Garth Brooks, Willie Nelson, Alan Jackson and Conway Twitty. After Ten we have Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw, Don Williams, Marty Robbins, Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, Randy Travis, HW Jr. and Ray Price. For balance I give you another list that has Hank Williams on top followed by George Jones, Jimmie Rogers (1^st Singer in Hall of Fame), Kitty Wells, Lefty Frizzel, Roy Acuff, Loretta Lynn, Eddy Arnold, Ernest Tubb  and Merle Haggard. Honorable mentions on this list are Cash, Carter Family, Nelson, Vernon Dalhart, Tammy Wynette, Strait, Brooks and Jim Reeves. What, no Patsy Cline? There are so many memorable country singers and so few numbers below eleven.

You have to believe that more than any other time in history people this week are gravitating to pure escapism wherever they can find it. Mindless is the new cool.

Dive into Little Big Town:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w5sMU5h1fg

Waiting for the bomb.

Today's Tids Issue 3,719

For surprises:

If there is one thing that all Americans agree with, going into these last few days of the electioneering, it is – Make it stop, I can’t take it anymore.

This is that time of year when 50 degrees feels nice and warm.

I’m brushing up on the local candidates so I can vote somewhat intelligently for that handful of Town Council seats. Frankly, those people, and in particular the schoolboard, are generally the hardest to vote for because you really know so little about them, especially the newcomers. I came across one woman who seemed particularly intelligent, had great experience, was a disciplined engineer and had grandiose thoughts about the future needs of our town. Then I read that she wants to do away with plastic bags in grocery stores. I love plastic bags. Next!

I think that parmesan polenta with rosemary would be a great side dish for roast pork and gravy, or pork chops with a cabernet wine demiglace.

Have you noticed the past few days that Trump is speaking softer and The Hill is on an ear-piercing rampage?

The Question:

A series of car bombs has a lot of the world’s premiere golfers dropping out of the Turkish Airlines Open in Turkey. More and more people are reconsidering travel in an increasingly dangerous world. What are the most dangerous countries for tourists?

The Headlines:

--Markets Lackluster; Ford Sales Down 11%.

--Des Moines Iowa Police Ambushed And Murdered In Separate Attacks.

--Trump Ahead Of Clinton For The First Time IN Honesty/Trustworthy Poll; ABC/ Washington Post Poll Also says Race Is Deadlocked; 6 Of 10 disapprove Of How Hillary Has Handled FBI News.

--World Series Moves To Deciding 7^th Game; High Angst Among Fans In Chicago And Cleveland.

--Black Turnout In Early Voting Falls Far Below Last Election; Obama Disturbed.

--Iran Air Deal For 80 Boeing Aircrafts To Be Firmed Up In A Few days.

--Russia Tells Syria Rebels To Leave Town Or Else; Rebels Under Gun From Many After Reported Civilian Deaths.

There are two conflicting statements about the same thing that people for centuries have wrestled with: “Out of sight, out of mind.” And “Absence makes the heart grow fonder”. I tend to go with the latter. If it’s “Out of sight…” then there was probably little there in the first place.

There are some things so magnificent in nature that it is impossible to recreate that beauty in words. Even for the brilliant writers of our times. You cannot describe the autumn sun’s reflections on the seas, and inlets that describe the bounds of islands and peninsulas reaching out to continents beyond. The glistening light so bright, intense, that turns deep blue to sinless white. On a perfect Autumn day, there it is out before me, a picture I cannot draw. Yet I live, I immerse myself in the awe.

Could the venerable sedan become the next relic of a society past? Auto companies are living off of sales of Pickups and SUVS. There just has to be some good sales on the horizon for sedans. Auto companies have always been rather reactionary.

Finally, a vegetable trend I can go along with – Cauliflower is the new Kale, so say the cultural elite. I never got the tasteless scrungy Kale phenomena, but I’ve been eating and liking the C veggie all my life --- especially smothered in gobs of cheeses sauce.

Young people should be taught that the mind isn’t as complex as it seems in their youth. We all grow older, learning along the way what counts and what is clutter.  

Of course, vegetarians can be quite delusional when they try to sell the meat eating public their versions of things that grow. The latest so-called hot dish in Vegan land is the “Cauliflower Steak!”. It looked kind of blah to me, just lying there in its pale whiteness amongst tomatoes. You have to wonder if real serious vegans approve using the word “steak” with one of their dishes. It may be too juicy for them.

You just gotta sense that Podesta’s peons are working overtime for some kind of explosive counter attack for the weekend.

The Tids web page at worldviewetc.blogspot.com has a new Autumn flavor. Check it out.

The Answer:

Tourists are finding it risky to go to Columbia, Russia, Nigeria, India, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Yemen, Guinea-Bissau, Iraq Sudan, Central African Republic, North Korea, Syria and Mexico.

I think I’ll stay home and dream.

Pumpkins, alone and forgotten.

Today's Tids Issue 3,718

For Orange:

November is the thank God and friends and family month. Half the country won’t be thanking anybody for whomever the President becomes. But, hopefully the USA will begin moving back to becoming again that big Thanksgiving table where all of the people find a way to sit together enjoying the bounty of the magnificent nation, and the contributions of all from all spectrums; where people temper their outrage, and try to understand the needs and accomplishments of all. I know. it seems impossible. But, so did defeating the British Empire. I like it because orange cheese snacks fit in so nicely with the prevailing orange, red and brown tones -- pumpkins, tall corn stalks standing tall across open fields, giant setting suns setting the seas afire. I like Novemeber because it begins with kids smiling over piles of candy, and ends with families and friends arguing over the last drumstick. And then laughing about it. Welcome, November. Maybe there is hope.   

Do you know what really bothers me? Reading that another church has closed. That’s what bothers me. I think lowered church attendance may have something to do with the moral and cultural state of the country.

“How do you tell a pumpkin you don’t need him anymore?” This empathetic observation is brought you by Charlie Brown’s sister. I don’t know about you, but it kind of gets to me right in the gut.

One of the negative signs to watch which is creeping up in the world of Finance is the huge China money supply that continues to grow nearly astronomically, and dwarfs that of the US. The problem is that the cash is chasing fewer and fewer solid investment opportunities. It seems reminiscent of the DotCom explosion, an era when any company preceded by a period was over bid by anxious investors fearing to be left behind in the industries of the future. This China phenomenon is called Asset Bubbles and is cause speculation which is leading to severe overpricing of assets of all types, starting with housing and leading to bonds and stocks, even small collectables. This race to place money could burst burgeoning beast, issuing the tsunami that travels the globe.

The Question:

What was the name of the Pacific atoll where the SA first exploded an H-Bomb? Bonus: The acting Triple Crown is the Oscar, Tony and Emmy. Two actors have won that, plus the 4^th big award -- The Grammy. Name them. Name five actors who have won the regular ole’ Triple Crown.

The Headlines:

--GM October Sales Fall As Auto Boom Slows; Pfizer Net Plunges 38%; Shell And BP Post Better Than Expected Earnings.

--NY Times Reports That The FBI Says There Is No Link Between Trump Campaign And Russia.

--Paul Ryan Says “I have Already Voted For Our Nominee.”

--Obama Says Comey Did The Right Thing.

--Explosion Kills Twelve In Pakistan Shipyard.

--ISIS Fighting Advancing Iraqi Army With Caveman Tactics; Boulders In Streets, Land Mines and Snipers Slow Eventual takeover Of Mosul. --Viagra Announces A New Mouth Spray Version That Acts Faster.

Do you ever wonder why Harvard is considered so great? Well, it may be because they have crack research teams there that solve big problems like the team that has been studying the Zombie problem and for your benefit have determined the best and worst cities in which to live in the event of a Zombie Apocalypse! How great is that! Harvard cares about you and that’s what sets them apart! Of course, most Zombie experts say avoid all cities at all costs, but if you have to be in one, here are the best.(Cities were rated on Defense, Containment (i.e. Building a giant wall) Food and Cure). Various cities were number one in the selected categories, but overall the best place to be is Boston, and the worst is New York. After Boston, the good cities are Salt Lake, Columbus O, Baltimore and Virginia Beach/Norfolk Va. After NYC, you take your life in your hands if you live in  Tampa, LA, Riverside/San Bernardino and Chicago.

The Alabama-Michigan NCAA Football Championship game is a distinct possibility. To make it happen, Michigan will have to beat The Ohio State. They should. The Blue and Yellow have a better fight song, and they don’t have “The” before their name.

I wonder if Judd Hirsch uses Uber.

Did you see where there is good news for kids who have never had Reece’s Pieces. Scientists have developed a patch that has been proven to squelch the often deadly effects of peanut allergies. Peanuts have been a violent threat to those with an aversion to them, now maybe there is hope. The tests show that the patch was quite effective on kids up 4-11 years old, but for the older groups, significantly not so well. It must be the sex drive.

How about that Professor Michael Rectenwald who was booted from the NYU campus because he taught kids that Political Correctness was dangerous to “academic integrity”. He called academia a mad house and protested against social justice warriors. Michael Rectenwald for President!

Have you noticed lately that The Hill is trying to paint the Trumpster as some kind of a Nuke Nut. That is probably to set up the reported revival of the old LBJ Daisy commercial. Frankly, when you have to go that far into fairy tale land, it does seem there is a sense of panic settling into Clintonia. Logic tells you that a egocentric bore like the Donald would never put his life in jeopardy by starting a Nuke war. May the Hairdo ever wave.

I think one of the worst of all celebrity people is Justin Bieber.

ISIS took over Mosul and other towns because they had surprise on their side, and confusion in Iraq. It’s tough to surprise an advancing well equipped army

Sadly to many, Ray Lochte and Cheryl Burke were voted off DWTS last night. There was much pathos as usual on this melodramatic dance program last night. The field is narrowing with the Top vote getters being Hinchcliffe and Johnson - 35, Hernandez and Chmerkovsky, - 33, Johnson and Lindsay – 30, Kramer and Savchenko – 30, Jole and Farber 24, with Henner and Hough  at 23 bringing up the rear. Henner and Hough seemed to have played it safe. Too safe. Will they break out next week, or just call a Taxi and go home.

The Voice is changing to me, and some of my favorites are going home. I think the program lost big when Michael Sanchez was sent home. To me many of the remaining singers lasts night were less interesting than those going home like Michael, Nolan Neal, Maye Thomas and Karlee Metzger. Ok, so Darby Walker is young, good and talented and perhaps should have taken Maye, but Maye is better than many in the 20. And Nolan would surely have done more than Brendan in the coming shows and Dana was like elevator music compared to Karlee who she defeated and who I believe can develop. I would rate Michael ahead of 10 or even 15 of the 20. My favorite performance of the night was by Josh Halverson and his Whiskey and You, and yet he lost out to just one more raspy-throated cool singer Aaron Gibson, good but adding nothing. (Note a post-show mini-survey has Josh way ahead of the rest.) Judges and critics like Sa’Rayah, but she is tedious and loud to me…like I’ve seen her over and over again before. I put Josh in the top three and Michael in the top five. Oh, wait Michael’s in the audience now, like me. Sad.

I think it is becoming pretty obvious that The Voice management brought on Alicia and Miley as judges to go more pop, and get away from country.

The Answer:

The H-Bomb first sent vibrations across the Pacific when it was exploded on Eniwetok Atoll. Bonus: The two great actors who won the Big Four awards are Rita Moreno and Helen Hayes. The Triple Crown has gone to Jack Albertson, Anne Bancroft, Ingrid Bergman, Shirley Booth, Ellen Burstyn, Melvin Douglas, Jeremy Irons, Al Pacino, Christopher Plummer, Vanessa Redgrave, Jason Robards, Geoffery Rush, Paul Scofield , Maggie Smith, Maureen Stapleton and Jessica Tandy.

If you are walking along and see a pumpkin, face a little sadder, sagging a bit in the middle, sit down for a second or two and say, “you were great and you made me smile...and, remember, you made the world just a little bit more orange. Thanks”